BIO//HEADCANNON
biography:
Maria Hill was born to a mother she never knew and a father who blamed her for his wife's untimely death. Melanie Hill, her mother, died during complications during childbirth. The man who was supposed to act as Maria's only parent only ever grew more bitter and hateful as Maria grew older. She clung to the hope of a mother that would have been kind and loving to her. She spent many nights imagining what it could have been like. Once she got to high school, however, having suffered under her father's mental and physical abuse, she had almost completely lost all hope.
She threw herself into her studies, excelling in many of her subjects, and had thought to attend college after graduation. Having no means of paying for it, she decided to join the military, tempted further by the thought of escaping her father. She decided upon the marines, where she faced grueling opposition from all sides. It was clear to her that she would not have an easy ride. Instead of giving up, she was determined to rise above. She would not let this control her life the same way her father had controlled her life previously. She worked harder, gained traction, and started excelling. By the time her service with the military was starting to come to an end, she swiftly realized that she was good at being a marine. She was gaining appreciation for her hard work and she got satisfaction from that, whether or not anyone else saw it. She decided to make a career of it.
She served many years with the marines, steadily rising in rank. The initial wall that she had faced against the male-dominated upper ranks had started to crack and come down as she proved time and again that she could not only hold her own against the boys -- but kick their asses as well. She soon garnered the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. and they approached her with an offer. She was eager to take it.
It wasn't hard to see that S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to be different than the marines. Maria didn't face the same kind of sexism that was present before. It was was easy for her excel above the other agents. She was promoted quickly, much faster than anyone had anticipated. After a particularly difficult mission in Madripoor -- one that she had succeeded in, though only just -- it came to her attention that she was to be groomed as the next Director of Operations. She was promoted to Commander and Deputy Director under Nick Fury, and it was a job that she had taken deadly serious ever since. She followed orders to a T and balked when it was clear that Fury was less concerned about the orders given to him. His reckless strategies were not to her liking, but she knew when to shut her mouth. However, that never stopped her from feeding information to the World Security Council.
As Fury started to gather his group of heroes to form the team known as The Avengers Initiative, she made a point to voice her concerns. In Maria Hill's opinion, a rag-tag group of vigilante civilian soldiers was the stupidest idea an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. could come up with. She would have much rather focused their efforts on weapons or intelligence. The sudden revelation that they were not alone in the universe only made it more clear to her that they didn't need a few suped up individuals, they needed an army. But when Loki came to steal the tesseract, it became obvious they no longer had time for that. The Avengers were their only hope.
More than once, Commander Hill felt like little more than a babysitter, a feeling only made worse by the presence of Tony Stark. Soldiers she could understand, individuals like Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff -- even the Asgardian Thor -- were people that she could understand. Tony Stark was a different breed, and it seemed rather like his sole purpose was to be a thorn in her side. Tony Stark was the number one reason why she never really believed that the whole thing would work. He was worse than Fury when it came to recklessness.
The tides changed when Coulson went down. It was the push that the Avengers needed, but to her it was the last shred of proof she needed that this whole thing was a mess. She had worked with Coulson a long time, and though they never saw things quite the same way, his was an attitude that she knew was necessary in this organization. She hadn't had time to mourn until later, but she couldn't help but blame Fury a little for this outcome. After all, what had he expected?
Commander Hill followed her orders, she did everything in her power to get them all out of this alive. As pessimistic -- or realistic, in her mind -- as she was about this mission, that didn't mean she wasn't going to try her damned hardest. When the World Security Council ordered a nuke on Manhattan, her stomach had dropped. She could see that it was their last option. She had been ready to carry out the order from Fury, but it never came. Fury refused to follow orders. Reckless.
The last moments of the Battle of Midtown were ones that she could hardly recall. the nuke order went out anyway and Fury failed to stop it. That's when Tony Stark -- the last man she had expected to lay his life on the line that way -- had stepped in to sacrifice himself in order to save everyone. She was sure he was gone, but Iron Man fell back through the tiny hole into their realm without a moment to spare. When they got the word that he was still alive, she wasn't sure what she felt. Relief, she thought. They'd somehow all pulled through and saved the day and now it was time to clean up. Still, after everything, one thing was clear.
Nick Fury was right.
headcanons:
1. Maria is a secret bookworm. She has stacks and stacks of paperbacks that she goes through, reading when she finds time. Thankfully, she's a fast reader, and she'll read anything from Lord of the Rings to Jane Eyre to Catcher in the Rye. Ender's Game is a particular favorite.
2. She considers herself an orphan. Period, end of sentence.
3. She enjoys the very occasional cigarette and scotch.
4. She partially blames herself for letting Loki get away with Clint Barton and Dr. Selvig. Others would give her praise, but all she sees is a failure.
5. She has a great deal of respect and admiration for Natasha Romanoff. There's a solidarity between women in their position and she sees a great deal of value to what Natasha has been able to do with her role.
6. She still has her doubts about Fury's Avengers Initiative, but she has seen the necessity in supporting the group in whatever way she can. Her only wish is that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be allowed more control over the group.
7. Chicago-style pizza is possibly the greatest food on earth. Despite many bad memories associated with her former home, there are some things you can't shake out of a girl. Appreciation of pizza is one of those things.
8. She hasn't been in a real relationship since before join S.H.I.E.L.D., it simply hasn't been a priority, nor has she had the time. Bed fellows are a different matter, but she doesn't see herself starting anything serious any time soon. Too much work to do.
9. Deep down, she envies the kind of optimism that the likes of Steve Rogers and Phillip Coulson have.
10. After Coulson died, she gave herself an hour of mourning by herself before going back to work. She wrote him a letter.
[mun note: this is a conglomeration of MCU canon, as well as what I know of comics canon and my own headcanon. Anything in this bio is subject to change as I learn more about Maria Hill.]